Ways to be Wicked - Descendants 2 AU

Chapter 22

 Marinette's boots pounded on the drain pipe interior as she sped towards their rendezvous. The echo of her own hurried footsteps made it sound like there was an army chasing after her. Had Juleka managed to cross the gap between the pipe and the docks? Marinette wouldn't put it past her to say the least. She was expecting to feel someone grab her with every footstep she took, to be yanked back by her hair and dragged back to the Isle. She urged her legs to run faster, praying she wouldn't be caught.

She jumped the drop from the pipe to the ground a foot below, stumbling some before she continued her sprint towards the waiting limo. The engine revved and Alya was standing by, her eyes wide with adrenaline as she stood before the open door.

"C'mon, girl, let's go!" Alya insisted. Marinette didn't think twice as she basically threw herself into the back seat of the limo, Alya banging the car roof to signal Kim to start driving. The pirate had barely closed the back door when the tires spun out, charging out of the alley way and back towards the bridge to Auradon.

Marinette panted, clutching Nathaniel's satchel for dear life. Without realizing it, she had basically fallen on top of Adrien's lap, her head resting there as she lay sprawled across the bench seat. He looked down at her with bright green eyes that showed a mix of surprise and embarrassment at the situation they had found themselves in. Marinette blinked as her mind finally caught up with her adrenaline-filled body. That's right, she had broken things off with him and laying in his lap wasn't what friends did. She felt her face heat up, sitting up so fast that she saw spots. Marinette scooted away from the king, choosing to look down at her shoes rather than at whatever Adrien's reaction had been.

Marinette hadn't meant to jump in the limo. She hadn't meant to be anywhere near there when her friends finally left the Isle for Auradon again. But there she was, sitting on a plush seat in an expensive car, barreling towards the place she had been so desperate to escape. Her exile hadn't even lasted two days and she was already going back. Marinette leaned her head back against the headrest and let out a long sigh, her eyes closed.

"I'm really sorry that things didn't go the way you wanted them to," Adrien said in a shocking apology. Marinette's eyes opened, looking over at the blonde beside her. He looked genuinely sympathetic despite the mess it had wrecked on his own personal life. Marinette felt the familiar embers of longing stir in her heart, a memory of his devotion to her coming to the forefront of her mind.

The Isle teen sighed, managing a half-hearted smile. "I mean, as long as you're safe, that's..."

She didn't know where to go from there, unable to cobble together enough words to properly convey how good it felt to know he was safe and was on his way home. Adrien turned away from her, his gaze looking out on the swirl of color that flew past them as the limo sped on.

"At least I got to see the Isle," Adrien muttered as his fingers tangled together in his lap. "They're my people, too. I guess in a way, Juleka helped me to see that."

His admission caught Marinette off guard. She turned in her seat to properly face him, leaning forward so that he could see her. "Adrien, Juleka captured you and held you hostage. She is an angry and vindictive girl with an evil plan."

"That's not so different than you when you came to Auradon, Marinette," Adrien shot off, his gaze never leaving the window. The statement caught Marinette off guard, her jaw dropping in surprise at how easily he had said something that cut into her. Marinette like Juleka? Maybe his time tied to the smokestack had fried his brain.

As Marinette sat back in her seat, wide-eyed and speechless, Alya and Nathaniel exchanged shocked glances of their own. Plagg, curled up in Nathaniel's lap, wasn't nearly as astonished.